Weft laying mechanism for needle looms



y 3, 1967 R. w. GUSTAVSON 3,320,980

WEFT LAYING MECHANISM FOR NEEDLE LOOMS Filed June 7, 1965 INVENTOR ROGER W. GUSTAVSON ATTORNEY United States Patent '0 3,320,980 WEFT LAYING MECHANISM FOR NEEDLE LOOMS Roger W. Gustavson, Auburn, Mass, assignor to Crompton & Knowles Corporation, Worcester, Mass., at corporation of Massachusetts Filed June 7, 1965, Ser. No. 461,685 Claims. (Cl. 139--124) This invention relates to improvements in mechanism for operating weft inserting needles more particularly of narrow ware looms.

In high speed weft needle looms of the type shown in the Turner Patent No. 2,625,959 and more particularly Patent No. 2,902,057, very high speeds have been attained because of the smooth continuous motion of the weft inserting member which moves the weft needle through the shed in a tear drop path. Looms of this type are generally limited to weaving cloth in the range of /2" to 1 /2", any increase in size of weaving components results in a reduction of weaving speed. The object of the present invention is to provide a needle loom of the type described with weft needle operating mechanisms including a primary and secondary actuator, the combination of which will enable the loom to weave cloth having approximately twice the width as previously without increasing the size of the weft needle members and without an appreciable reduction in speed due to the weft inserting mechanism.

Other objects and 'the details of that which is novel will be clear from the following descriptions and claims taken with the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated an example of a device embodying the present invention.

-In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view illustrating the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section of line 2-2, FIGURE 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows,

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3, FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic View illustrating the motions of the needle member actuator and the path of the weft inserting needle.

Referring particularly to FIGURE 1, there are shown harness frames 4 reciprocable vertically in guides 6 and 7 by mechanism not shown but similar to that employed in Patent No. 2,625,959. The harness frames actuate the warp 8 to form two separate sheds through which the wefts 10 are inserted to form fabrics 12. The loom operates with the usual beat up means 14 and selvage form ing mechanism 16.

Supported on a table 18 are right and left hand inserting means indicated generally at 20 and 22 which operate to lay weft 10 into the warp shed much in the same manner as the weft inserting means shown in the above mentioned Patent No. 2,902,057. Since right and left hand weft inserting means 20 and 22 are exactly alike and operate in the same manner, it is deemed necessary to describe only the right hand weft inserting means 20.

Weft inserting means 20 has a weft needle member 24 having a weft eye 26 at the rear end and through which the weft 10 is threaded. Weft eye of member 24 is moved through the shed in a tear shaped path 27, see FIGURE 2, by a primary actuator 28 and a secondary actuator 30. Primary actuator 28 has a driving link 32 which has one end pivotally connected at 34 to a part 36 of member 24 spaced from said weft eye. Link 32 has its other end fixed to a first continuously rotating shaft 38 whose axis is parallel to and spaced from pivot 34 so that link 32 and a part of member 24 are driven in a circle designated by reference numeral 40 in FIG- URE 4.

Secondary actuator 30 has a driving link 42 which has one end pivotally connected as at 44 to one end of a connecting link or crank arm 46 and its other end fixed to a second continuously rotating shaft 48 whose axis is parallel to and spaced from pivot 44 so that link 42 and a portion of arm 46 are driven in a circle designated by the reference numeral 48 in FIGURE 4. The other end of crank arm 46 is pivotally connected at 50 to a portion 52 of member 24. Portion 52 is spaced at a greater distance from the weft eye 26 than is portion 36.

Shafts 38 and 48 rotate at the same rate in timed relation with other parts of the loom and are driven in synchronism but in opposite directions by conventional driving means such as gears or the like, not shown. Shaft 38 rotates in a counterclockwise direction in the right hand weft inserting means 20 and in a clockwise direction in the left hand weft inserting means 22. As shaft 38 makes one complete revolution portion 36 of member 24 is driven substantially in a circle by actuator 28 and at the same time, shaft 48 also makes one complete rotation to drive actuator 30 in a circle. Link 46 which is pivotally connected to link 30 and portion 52 of weft needle member 24 acts as a crank arm to drive portion 52 in an eliptical path designated by the reference numeral 54 in FIGURE 4. The separate motions given to portions 36 and 52 of member 24 by the shafts 38 and 48 move member 24 in such a way so as to produce a compound motion for the weft eye and move it in tear shaped path 27. The right to left dimension of path 27 is approximately twice that which would be possible to achieve by having only one actuator, while the front to back dimensions are approximately the same as for the single actuator, as it is not necessary to increase this dimension of the needle path and also it eliminates the necessity of making changes in the front to back dimensions in the loom. This is possible because pivot 44 on secondary actuator 30 is out of phase with pivot 34 of primary actuator 28 when the needle member is in its outermost position. Thus, the throw of the secondary actuator is added to that of the primary actuator.

From the foregoing it is evident that the invention provides a substantial increase in the width of cloth which can be woven on a needle loom of the type described without any substantial increase in size of weaving components or reduction in speed by using two actuators instead of one which gives the needle member a compound motion to move the weft eye in the manner described. As will be evident from the foreging description the invention is not limited to the particular details of construction of the example illustrated, and it is contemplated that various other modifications of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art. It is therefore the intention that the appended claims shall cover such modifications as do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the in vention.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. In a needle loom having means for forming a warp shed, weft inserting means comprising:

(a) weft needle member having a weft eye at the rear end thereof;

(b) a primary continuously rotating actuator pivotally connected to said needle member at a point spaced from the center of rotation of said primary actuator and said weft eye, and being effective to drive said point in a circle;

(c) a secondary continuously rotating actuator turning once for every rotation of said primary actuator; and

(d) a crank arm pivotally connected at one of its ends to said secondary actuator at a point spaced from the center of rotation of said secondary actuator and being pivotally connected at its other end to said needle member at .a greater distance from said weft eye than said primary actuator, whereby said primary and secondary actuators cooperate to move said weft through one complete weft inserting cycle for each rotation of said actuators.

2. In a needle :loom having means for forming a warp shed, weft inserting means comprising:

(a) a needle member having an end portion for carrying a weft yarn;

(b) a primary rotating eccentric actuator supporting a part of said needle member;

(c) a secondary rotating eccentric actuator which makes one revolution for each revolution of the primary actuator;

(d) linkage means connecting said secondary actuator to an opposite end portion of said needle member at a point spaced from said primary actuator whereby rotation of said actuators cooperate to give said needle member a compound motion to insert a loop of weft in the warp shed for each revolution of said actuators.

3. In a needle loom having means for forming a warp shed, weft inserting means comprising:

(a) a needle member for carrying a weft yarn;

(b) a primary rotating eccentric actuator supporting a part of said needle member, rotating in one direction;

() a secondary rotating eccentric actuator which makes one revolution in the opposite direction for each revolution of the primary actuator; and

(d), linkage means connecting said secondary actuator to a portion of said needle member at a point spaced from said primary actuator whereby rotation of said actuators cooperate to give said needle member a compound motion to insert a loop of weft in the warp shed for each revolution of said actuators. 4. In a needle loom having means for forming a warp 5 shed, weft inserting means comprising:

(a) a needle member for carrying a Weft yarn;

(b) a primary rotating eccentric actuator connected to a part of said needle member;

(c) a secondary rotating eccentric actuator which makes one revolution for each revolution of the primary actuator; and

(d) linkage means connecting said secondary actuator to a portion of said needle member at a point spaced from said primary actuator, the connection between said linkage means and said secondary actuator being about 180 out of phase with the connection between said needle member and said primary actuator when said needle member is in its outermost position, whereby rotation of said actuators cooperate to give said needle member a compound motion to insert a loop of weft in the Warp shed for each revolution of said actuators,

5. Ina needle loom as set forth in claim 4 wherein said secondary actuator rotates in a direction opposite to the 25 direction of rotation of the primary actuator. 

1. IN A NEEDLE LOOM HAVING MEANS FOR FORMING A WARP SHED, WEFT INSERTING MEANS COMPRISING: (A) WEFT NEEDLE MEMBER HAVING A WEFT EYE AT THE REAR END THEREOF; (B) A PRIMARY CONTINUOUSLY ROTATING ACTUATOR PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID NEEDLE MEMBER AT A POINT SPACED FROM THE CENTER OF ROTATION OF SAID PRIMARY ACTUATOR AND SAID WEFT EYE, AND BEING EFFECTIVE TO DRIVE SAID POINT IN A CIRCLE; (C) A SECONDARY CONTINUOUSLY ROTATING ACTUATOR TURNING ONCE FOR EVERY ROTATION OF SAID PRIMARY ACTUATOR; AND 